In Brief
A widow and two daughters of a man killed in a 2011 motor accident, along with his mother-in-law, claimed compensation under the Motor Vehicles Act. The High Court had reduced the award and excluded the mother-in-law as a legal representative. The Supreme Court held that the mother-in-law, being a dependent living with the deceased, qualifies as a legal representative. The Court rejected the High Court's split multiplier approach and applied the standard multiplier of 11 (for age 52) with 15% addition for future prospects, calculating total dependency compensation of Rs.84,16,815. Including conventional heads, the Court awarded Rs.85,81,815 with 7.5% annual interest from the claim date."
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